Can't create recovery drive on this PC

Hello-I was having this problem with Win8. I have downloaded Win8.1 and I created a recovery drive on a32GB flash drive.

I had the same error message.  I found that I had deleted the recovery files in an overly aggressive C: drive cleanout. there should be a hidden folder on the C drive called 'recovery'. restoring this (from the recycle bin) fixed the issue for me, and allowed me to create the recovery media.

Unfortunately I cannot at this point suggest any method for creating this folder from other sources, on my other PC's this folder is access denied, so a simple copy didn't work.

I've not finished proving it at this point ( I need a spare drive to do a complete test restore to), but it appears that any 'recovery drive' created with windows 8 should allow you to boot any machine to a point you can access system images, so in the meantime, consider creating one from a friends PC, or other..

Hello-I had this problem with Win8 attempting to create a recovery drive on a flash drive. I had to create a recovery drive on a DVD. . However, Win 8.1 eliminated this problem with a flash drive and I am now able to do the same on a flash drive.

Not much help here with this problem which I am experiencing also. I do all the right things and get the "files missing" message but not a glimmer of a hint as to which files. Has anybody been able to create the recovery USB under windows 8.1 pro. I have a recovery usb drive I built under windows 8 pro but am not certain if it would help if windows 8.1 failed to boot or had other problems. If there was anyway to find out what files are missing it would go a long way to resolving this problem.

Jim

If you're not sure if it works, try it! stick the USB recovery drive in and boot your system from it. see what options it gives you. if you haven't done this at least once, how do you know how to restore your system when it breaks? there is also access to tools which may recover your system without the need to restore.

A system backup is not complete until it has been test restored. back your system up, then remove the HDD and replace it with a blank spare, and restore your system to it using the backup you have. this both tests that your backup will work, and teaches you exactly what to do in the event something does go wrong. if you haven't done this, then any backup is only a potential - you don't know it  will work. even without a spare drive, make sure the recovery disk will boot, and that it can see your system image file - click through until the last "do it" box so you know it accepts the image.

I'm not finished with my research into creating the recovery files (see above) but I suspect that answers may lie within the recimg commands and others. do you have a (hidden) directory on C: called recovery? can you see it's contents?

try booting into safe mode, or booting with the DVD into the advanced recovery features,  see if this creates the recovery files.